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• Verb sequences

Pronouns

• kore this, this one, close to the speaker
• sore that, that one, close to the listener

Adjectives

Tae Kim - Adj grammar
2 types: i adj and na adj
i adj ends in i, can be directly put in front of the noun to describe

• ii jin{} good person
• kaqkoii cool, handsome
• isoga{}shii toki{} when busy
• tano{}shii GE_MU fun game
• atsu{}i hot
• samu{}i cold

na adj all adjectives not ending in i and exceptions require na as suffix before a noun.

• su{}ki na mono{} likable thing
• genki{} na jin{} lively or healthy person
• shizu{}ka quiet
• exception ending in i
  • kirei na jin{} pretty person
  • kira{}i distasteful
  • saiwa{}i fortunately

Abverbs

Tae Kim - Adverbs

• easy to use, don't require any particles, can appear almost anywhere in the sentence.
  • itsumo always
  • yoku often
  • taitei usually
  • tokidoki{時々} sometimes
  • tamani rarely
  • zenzen{} not at all if negated
  • tabun{多分} probably, maybe
  • takusan a lot regarding amount
  • suko{少}shi a little regarding amount

Create Adverbs from Adjectives

• na adj: na-adjni - shizu{静}kani, kireini, hon-tou{}ni.
• i adj: i-adj~i-ku - haya{早}ku, kawaiku.
• exceptions
  • ii -> yoku.
  • kaqkoii -> kaqkoyoku.
• heya{} wo kireini suru do room cleanly -> make room clean.
• nihon{} no *joseiseiyuu{女性声優}* female voice actress ha, *yoku wazato kawaiku hana{}su* often purposefully speak cutely.
• ashita{}, daiji{} na shiken{} ga aru kara there's an important test tomorrow and hence, konya{} ha haya{}ku ne{}ru going to sleep early tonight.
• rainen{}, *hontou{}ni nihon{} ni i{}ku no* are you really going to Japan?

Nouns and Adj negation

2 rules to negate nouns and adjectives; for the polite form, add desu to the end of the sentence.

• na adj and nouns - attach janai to the end -janai
  • genki{}janai
  • kireijanai
• i adj - drops "i" at the end and replaced with kunai ~i-kunai
  • isoga{}shi~i-kunai -> isoga{}shikunai
  • kawai~i-kunai -> kawaikunai
• Exceptions - ii and kaqkoii both conjugates from yo{良}i
  • ii good: yo~i-kunai -> yokunai
  • kaqkoii suitable: kaqkoyo~i-kunai -> kaqkoyokunai

The negative form of nouns and adj is similar grammatically to i adj, and thus cannot use da with the negative.

• SARADA ha, *amari su{}ki janai* not very likable
• SUTE_KI SARADA ha, *SARADA janai* yo not salad.
• kono hon{} ha, *omoshiro{面白} kunai* yo not interesting.
• kotoshi{今年} no fuyu{冬} ha, samu{寒} kunai ne as for this year's winter, not cold.

Particles overview

• immediately following the nouns to express the meaning.

Topic Particles

Tae Kim
ha [wa] as for; used to indicate a new topic that can be named for the conversation

• kore ha, nan{何} desuka [kore wa, nan desuka] What's this?
  • sore ha, PEN desu [sore wa, pen desu] That's a pan.
• ima{今} ha, isoga{忙} shii [ima wa, isoga shii] Busy now?
  • ima{} ha, choqto isoga{} shii [ima wa chot;to isogashii] A little busy now.
• eiga{映画} ha, su{好}ki desuka [e'ega wa suki desuka] movies, it is likable -> do you like movies?
  • su{}ki desu It's likable -> I like them.
• greetings for daytime and evening
  • konnichiha [konnichiwa] good day
  • konbanha [konbanwa] good evening
• saikin{最近} ha, dou desuka [sai kin wa, dou desuka] How's it as for lately?
  • isoga{忙} shii desu I'm busy.

mo as well, also; inclusive topic particle

• kyou{今日} ha, isoga{忙} shii [kyo'o wa, isogashii] As for today, are you busy?
• un, isoga{} shii Yes, I'm busy.
• ashita{明日} mo isoga{} shii Tomorrow is also busy.
• achiqteha [achit;tewa] what about the day after tomorrow?
• achiqtemo The day after tomorrow too.
• hontou{本当} Is it true?

Identifier particle

ga identifies or seeks to identify an unknown, or a particular thing among all possibilities, literally translated to "the one that".

• donna PIZA ga Regarding which kind of pizza su{}ki desuka?
• ta{食}be mono{物} ha, *nan{} ga su{}ki desuka* what is the likable one?
• SUMISUsan *ga isoga{} shii* is the one that's busy.
• tanakasensei{} ga su{}ki.
• jugyou{} ga omoshiro{} kunai?

Sentences can be restructured to express the same meaning without ga.

• su{}ki na ta{}be mono{} ha as for food ~you~ like, nan{} desuka what is it?

Ending particles

Tae Kim
ne used when the speaker is seeking agreement and confirmation, by adding a tone of "right?" or "isn't it?"

• kyou{} ha, atsu{}i desune as for today, ~it's~ hot, isn't it?.

yo used when the speaker wants to stress something to the learner, by adding a tone of "you know?"

• ashita{} ha, isoga{} shii desuyo.

yone combined

• RA_MEN ha, oishii desuyone.

kana I wonder maybe, casual

Tae Kim - Male or Female Speech Tone

• In casual settings, before ne or yo, it's important to use da to nouns and na-adj never i-adj, to avoid sounding too feminine for males.
  • nihongo{} ha, jouzu{上手} ne ~you are~ good at Japanese, aren't you; sounds feminine.
  • nihongo{} ha, jouzu{} da ne sounds masculine.
  • kawaii *yo na* casual and masculine version of "ne"
  • nihongo{} ha, tano{楽}shii yo Japanese is fun, you know" neutral for i-adj.

Nouns properties particle

Tae Kim - no
no particle can describe nouns with nouns, to express ownership, membership, property, etc. Important to remember the order of the modification, literal translation would be "of" with reverse order.

• watashi{私} no namae{名前} my name ha, KIMU desu.
• kono kuruma{車} ha, *nihon{} no kuruma{}* desu Japanese car.
• PEN ha, *tsukue{机} no ue{上}* desu above of desk.
• kaban bag ha, *tsukue{} no shita{下}* desu below of desk.
• tanakasensei{} ha *nihongo{} no sensei{}* desu Japanese teacher.

no can replace the noun entirely when understood by the context.

• aka{赤}i no red one ha, su{好}ki.
• SUMISUsan no ha, dore desuka the one of Smith-san is which one?

Particles listing nouns

List multiple nouns
to group multiple nouns together in a complete list.

• oyakodon{親子丼} no zairyou{材料} ha nan{} desuka What are the ingredients for Oyako-don?
  • go han{飯} to tama{玉}negi to shouyu desu Rice, onions, and soy sauce.
  • soshite and then, {oyakodon} da kara, mochiron toriniku{鶏肉} to tamago{卵} desu it's parent and child bowl, so certainly chicken and egg.
• kimo{気持}chi waru{悪}i i-adj unpleasant desune.
  • sou desuka is that so? demo, oishii desuyo.
• kawaisou janai desuka not feeling sorry, na-adj?
  • SUMISUsan ha omoshiro{面白} i desune.
  • hontou{本当} no oya{親} to kodomo{子供} janai desukara dai-jou-bu{} desuyo it's not real parent and child, so it's okay, you know.

ya and toka more casual can list multiple nouns, but implying the list is incomplete, and is a sample among a larger list.

• SUMISUsan ha donna ta{}be mono{} ga su{}ki desuka?
  • sou desune. nihon{} no o kashi{菓子} ya CHI_ZUKE_KI ya ICHIGO SHO_TOKE_KI ga su{}ki desu I like Japanese candy, cheese cake, and strawberry short cake.
• ama{甘}i moto{} ga su{}ki desune sweet things are likable.
  • ama{} kunai moto{} mo su{}ki desuyo.
• naqtou{納豆} ha dou desuka how about natto?
  • naqtou{} ha, kira{嫌}i desune.

ka can list several options with multiple nouns, meaning "or".

• shiken{試験} ha itsu exam is when?
  • kyou{} ka ashita{} da yo today or tomorrow.
• zeqtai{絶対} kyou{} janai yo definitely not today.
  • ja, ashita{}.
• tekitou{適当} da ne haphazard without a plan.
  • shiken{} ha raishou{来週} da yo.
  • yaqpari thought so.

Particles seeking explanations

Tae Kim - Explanations and expectations
no added to the end of the sentence to seek or provide an explanation; for nouns and na-adj, you need to add nano.

• kare{} ha, gakusei{}?
• kare{} ha, gakusei{} na no he is a student seeking explanation, unexpected?
• osushi ha, ta{}beru do you eat sushi?
• osushi ha, ta{}beru no seeking explanation?

When parts like da or desu follows no noda, nodesu, the no is replaced with n to make pronunciation easier -> nda and ndesu; if not replaced, considered old-fashioned.

• yamamotosensei{}, RI_san ha, suieibu{} da kara, OTAKUjinai desuyo.
  • anou excuse me, SUMISUsan, *OTAKU ha amari ii kotoba{言葉} janai n desuyo* Otaku is not a very good word, you know.
• sou nan desuka is that so? demo, RI_san ha OTAKU janai, *ii n janai desuka* isn't it fine?
• SUMISUsan.
  • hai? iie, *ii desu* it's fine -> never mind.
• ii desuka it's good? sounds neutral?
  • ii n desuka it's good? seeking explanation?
  • ii n janai desuka it's good, isn't it?
• yokunai desuka it's not good?
  • yokunai n desuka seeking why it's not good?
  • yokunai n janai desuka it's not good, isn't it?

Various degrees of explanation and expectation

• gomen, kyou{} ha dame da.
  • ja, ashita{} ha isoga{}shii neutral no seeking?
• gomen, ashita{} ha dame da.
  • ashita{} ha isoga{}shii no mild curiosity, low level of seeking?
• ashita{} ha TESUTO da ne.
  • e? ashita{} ha TESUTO na no surprised and high level of seeking??
• gomen, ashita{} ha zeqtai{} dame da.
  • ashita{} ha, *iqtai doushite dame na no yo* why on earth is tomorrow no good? explicit demand for explanation?!

Particles with verbs

Tae Kim - Verb Particles
wo [o] particle used to designate the direct object of a verb.

• eiga{映画} wo mi{}ru watch movie.
• go han{} wo ta{食}beru eat rice/meal.
• hon{} wo yo{読}mu read book.
• tegami{手紙} wo ka{書}ku write letter.

to with, used to describe an action done with someone or something

• tomodachi{} to aso{}bu play with friend.
• RI_san to hana{}su talk with Lee-san.
• shinseki{} to a{}u meet with relatives.

ni at, in, to, on; designate the direct target of an action on time, location, persons

• gaqkou{} ni i{行}ku go to school
• shinseki{} ha, ashita{} ni kuru relatives come tomorrow.
• BASU ni no{}ru ride on bus
• sensei{} ni ki{}ku {ask, listen to} teacher.
• hito{} no mae{} ni ta{}tsu stand in front of people
• tomodachi{} ni a{}u meet friend.

de describe the content or the means of the action taking place, the context

• RESUTORAN de ta{}beru eat at restaurant.
• nihongo{} de hana{}su speak in Japanese.
• hashi de ta{}beru eat with chopsticks.
• eigakan{} de eiga{} wo mi{}ru watch movie at movie theater.
• shigoto{} de isoga{}shii busy with work.

he [e] specifically used to indicate a direction of motion verbs like "to go" or "to send", usage covered by ni

• gaqkou{} he i{}ku go to school.
• tegami{} wo nihon{} he oku{}ru send letter to Japan.

Question

Tae Kim
mo with question words to include or exclude "everything"

• dare{}mo everybody, nobody if negated
  • minna{} everybody, mina{}san everybody politely
• nani{}mo nothing when negated; doesn't mean everything
  • zenbu{} everything.
• dokomo everywhere, nowhere if negated
• doushitemo no matter what
  • zenzen{} not at all when negated
  • zeqtai{} absolutely, never if negated
• dochiramo both ways
• itsumo always even if negated

demo with question words to indicate "any"

• dare{}demo anybody
• nan{}demo anything
• dokodemo anywhere
• doudemo anyhow
• dochirademo any way
• itsudemo any time
• ikutsudemo any number of things
• ikurademo any amount.

ka the question marker with question words to indicate "some"

• dare{}ka somebody
• nani{}ka something
• dokoka somewhere
  • doqka slang of somewhere
• douka somehow
• dochiraka one way of the two
• doushiteka for some reason
  • nandeka for some reason casually
  • nazeka for some reason formally
• itsuka sometime
• ikutsuka some number of things
• ikuraka some amount.

Verbs overview

Tae Kim - Verbs overview

• verbs go at the end
• Japanese tenses
• verbs themselves do not have a specific tense so they can describe activities in the future or an unspecified time.
  • kyou{} ha, *nani{} wo shou ka* what shall we do?
  • donna ta{}be mono{} wo ta{}betai?
  • hiru{}go han{} ha, *nani{} wo ta{}bemashou ka* what shall we eat?
  • shuumatsu{} ni taitei nani{} wo suru no?
  • kotoshi{} no fuyuyasu{冬休}mi ni nani{}ka yotei{} arimasu ka?
  • raishuumatsu{} ni eiga{} wo mi{} ni i{}ku no ha, dou?
  • hima{}na toki{} ni nani{} wo suru no ga su{}ki desuka?

Tae Kim - Verb types

• if a verb doesn't end in ru, it's always a u-verb godan verb v5cu
• if a verb ends in ru
  • if the vowels preceding are aru, uru, oru, it's always a u-verb v5aru, v5uru, v5oru
  • if the vowels preceding are iru, eru, it's a ru-verb ichidan verbs v1iru, v1eru in most cases.
• exceptions, neither ru-verb nor u-verb
  • suru to do.
  • ku{}ru to come.

Desire verb forms

Tae Kim - Desire and Volition
To describe what someone or something wants to do, verb stems to be attached with -tai, essentially changing the verb into an i-adj.

• KANI wo ta{}betai I want to eat crab.
• nihon{} ni i{}kitai desu I want to go to Japan.
• kowa{怖}i eiga{}, mi{}takunai ~I~ don't want to watch, i-adj mi{}ta~i-kunai, scary movies.

Volition verb forms

one of the usage: let's, shall we

• ru-verbs: ~ru-you.
  • ta{}beru -> ta{}beyou
• u-verbs: ~u-ou
  • i{}ku -> i{}kou
• exceptions
  • suru -> shou
  • kuru -> koyou

Polite volitional verb form: stem-mashou

• ta{}bemashou let's eat
• i{}kimashou let's go
• shimashou let's do.

Verb clauses

Tae Kim - Verb clauses - a complete sentence must end either in a real verb or state-of-being.

• the polite form only goes at the end of a complete sentence, so a verb clause used within a sentence must be in plain form.

Verb clauses as adjectives

• go han{} wo ta{}beru toki{} ha when eating a meal, TEREBI wo mi{}nai.
• hon{} wo yo{}manai hito{} ha for people that do not read books, atama{頭} ga yokunai the head is not good -> not smart.
• se{} ga taka{}i hito{} people of tall height ha, *suteki* dane lovely.
• seikaku{性格} ga yasa{優}shii hito{} people whose personality is not gentle ha, *amari* su{}kijanai not much.

For clauses ending in a na-adj, attach na as suffix to describe a noun.

• katachi{形} ga totemo kirei na kudamono{果物} fruit that has very pretty form ha, oishii.
• ninensei{} no nihongo{} no gakusei{} ha, *un{運} ga ii* luck is good.

Verb clauses as nouns

• verb clauses are not nouns, and limited as no particles can be attached. However, since verb clauses can be adjectives, we can attach a generic noun 事{koto} to the clause.
  • o hashi{箸} de go han{} wo ta{}beru koto the thing to eat rice using chopsticks ha, muzuka{難}shii.
• no can also be used as a noun replacement, more specific to the sentence than the general statement of {koto}.
  • ryouri{} wo suru no cooking cuisine among others ga su{}ki.
  • asa{朝}, haya{}ku o{起}kiru no waking up early in the morning among others ha, *nigate{苦手}* poor, not good at.

Conjunctions

Tae Kim - Conj
kedo, ga

• kedo or ga, both meaning "but", can combine 2 sentences into one compound sentence, while demo is always used at the beginning of a new sentence.
  • kyou{} ha isoga{} shii kedo, ashita{} ha hima{暇} busy today, but free tomorrow.
  • kyou{} ha isoga{} shii desu ga, ashita{} ha hima{} desu.
• If the first clause ends with a noun or na-adj without any tense, and desu is not used, you must add da.
  • kyou{} ha hima{} *da kedo*, ashita{} ha isoga{}shii desu.
  • kyou{} ha hima{} desu kedo, ashita{} ha isoga{}shii.
  • kyou{} ha hima{} *da ga*, ashita{} ha isoga{}shii.
  • kyou{} ha hima{} desu ga, ashita{} ha isoga{}shii desu.
• If the noun or na-adj is already conjugated like the negative form, da not needed.
  • kyou{} ha hima{} janai kedo, ashita{} ha hima{}.
  • kyou{} ha hima{} janai ga, ashita{} ha hima{}.

kara, node

• so - kara or node slightly more polite and formal, can combine 2 sentences to show a reason and result, or cause-effect.
  • koko ha, urusai kara, amari su{}ki janai it's noisy here so I don't like it very much.
  • koko ha, urusai *desu node*, amari su{}ki janai desu.
• If the first clause ends with a noun or na-adj without anything else de or janai, you must add da before kara -> da kara, and add na before node -> na node.
  • koko ha shizu{静} ka *da kara*, su{}ki.
  • koko ha shizu{} ka desu kara, su{}ki desu.
  • koko ha shizu{} ka *na node*, su{}ki.
  • koko ha shizu{} ka desu node, su{}ki desu.

noni

• noni despite can be attached to two sentences to mean "despite". You must add na -> na noni when the first clause ends with a plain noun or na-adj.
  • tanaka{}san ha, sensei{} na noni, totemo waka{若}i desu.
  • kotoshi{今年} ha, fukeiki{不景気} da gara this year is in recession so, KURISUMASU na noni, o kyaku{客}san ga suku{少}nai despite it being Christmas, customers are few.
  • ARISU ha, kawaii noni, *majime{真面目}* serious da gara, otoko{男} no tomodachi{友達} ga sukunai.

You can leave out either side of a conjunction structure if understood by context, e.g. kara.

• koko ha, su{}ki janai.
  • nande?
• urusai kara noisy, so.

If you leave the first part out, you still need to add desu, da, or na just as if the first sentence was there.

• toshokan{図書館} *na noni*, koko ha itsumo urusai yone.
• da kara, amari su{}ki janai.

You can even leave out both parts of a conjunction structure as seen below

• saikin{} ha, isoga{}shii yo.
  • da kara?
• da kara, taihen{大変} da yo so, it's tough you know! da kedo kyou{} ha, yaqto hima{} da kara, ureshii but I'm finally free today, so I'm happy!
  • aq, sou?

Numbers and Counters

Tae Kim - Basic numbers and age

• ichi{一}, ni{二}, san{三}, *yon/shi{四}*, go{五}, roku{六}, shichi/nana{七}, hachi{八}, kyuu{九}, juu{十} [shi] less common.
  • nijuuichi{二十一}.
  • yonjuu{四十}.
  • nanajuuyon{七十四}.
  • kyuujuukyuu{九十九}.
• Counter for age is sai{歳}, also written as 才 to simplify
  • nanajuusai{七十歳}.
• Irregular readings of Kanji
  • iqsai{一歳}.
  • haqsai{八歳}.
  • juqsai{十歳}.
  • hatachi{二十歳}.
  • nijuuiqsai{二十一歳}.

Tae Kim - Telling Time

• we need counters for hours and minutes
  • yo, shichi, ku ji{時} {4, 7, 9} o'clock
  • nan, iq, san, yon, roq, haq, juq pun{分} {how many, 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10} minute~s~
• 24-hr military time is used more often in Japan
  • ichijiiqbun{} 1:01
  • gogo{午後} yojiyonjuuyonbun{} 4:44 PM
  • gozen{午前} juujihan{} 10:30 AM
  • juuhachijinijuugobun{} 18:25
• ima{} ha, nanji{} desuka?
  • nijihan{} desu.
• days of the week
  • nanyoubi{何曜日} What day of the week
  • getsuyoubi{月曜日} Monday
  • kayoubi{火曜日} Tuesday
  • suiyoubi{水曜日} Wednesday
  • mokuyoubi{木曜日} Thursday
  • kinyoubi{金曜日} Friday
  • doyoubi{土曜日} Saturday
  • nichiyoubi{日曜日} Sunday
  • senshuu{}, konshuu{}, raishuu{}, maishuu{}.
  • heijitsu{平日} weekday.
  • shuumatsu{週末} weekend.
• 2 particles kara from and made until go together with time expressions
  • EAROBIKUSU KURASU aerobic class ha, maishuukayoubi{} to kinyoubi{} no *juuhachiji{} kara juukuji{} made* desu from 18:00 until 19:00.
  • juugyou{} ha nanji{} kara haji{}maru no?
  • itsu made kono kaisha{} de hatara{働}kitai desuka until when do you want to work at this company?
  • maishuumatsu{} ni ryoushin{} kara renraku{連絡} ga kuru contact comes from parents every weekend.